Mars Read Online Free PDF Page A

winter. Because its orbit is farther from the sun, the Martian year is nearly twice as long as Earth’s (a few minutes short of 689 Earth days) and its seasons are correspondingly much longer than Earth’s.
    Mars rotates about its axis in almost the same time that Earth does. A day on Earth is 23 hours, 56 minutes, and 4.09 seconds long. A day on Mars is only slightly longer: 24 hours, 37 minutes, and 22.7 seconds.
    To avoid confusion, space explorers refer to the Martian day as a “sol.” In one Martian year there are 669 sols, plus an untidy fourteen hours, forty-six minutes, and twelve seconds.
    Is there life on Mars?
    That question has haunted the human psyche for centuries. It is the primary force behind our drive to reach the red planet. We want to see for ourselves if life can exist there.
    Or once did.
    Or does now.

SOL 1: AFTERNOON
    The first thing the scientists did, after their little arrival speeches, was collect contingency samples of the Martian rocks, soil, and atmosphere.
    Just in case a sudden emergency forced them to scramble into their landing/ascent vehicle and blast back into orbit around the planet, they spent their first two hours on the surface stuffing rocks and soil samples into airtight cases and filling vials with whiffs of air taken from ground level on up to ten meters, the latter obtained with the use of a gangling titanium pole.
    Meanwhile, the construction robot trundled across the rocky ground out to the three unmanned cargo carriers that had landed the previous day, scattered over a two-kilometer-wide radius from their nominal landing site. Like an oversized mechanical ant, the robot busily hauled their cargos back to the inflated dome that would be home to the explorers for the next eight weeks.
    Mikhail Andreivitch Vosnesensky, veteran of a dozen space missions, sat up in the cockpit in the commander’s seat, one eye on the scientists and the other on the mission schedule. Beside him, Pete Connors monitored the robot and conversed with the expedition command in orbit around the planet. Although both men stayed in their hard suits, ready to dash outside if an emergency required their help, they had taken their helmets off.
    Connors switched off the radio and turned to the Russian. “The guys in orbit confirm that we landed only a hundred thirty meters from our nominal target spot They send their congratulations.”
    Vosnesensky offered a rare smile. “It would have been closer, but the boulders were too big farther south.”
    “You did a damned good job,” said Connors. “Kaliningrad will be pleased.” His voice was a rich baritone, trained in church choirs. The American had a long, almost horsey face with a complexion the color of milk chocolate and large sorrowful brown eyes rimmed with red. His hair was cropped militarily short, showing the distinct vee of a widow’s peak.
    “You know what the old pilots say,” Vosnesensky replied.
    Connors chuckled. “Any landing you can walk away from is a good landing.”
    “All systems are working. We are on schedule.” It was Vosnesensky’s way of making light of his skillful landing. The Russian did not trust flattery, even from a man he had worked with for nearly four years. A scowl was the normal expression on his broad, beefy face. His sky-blue eyes always looked suspicious.
    “Yeah. And now the second team has to land where we are. Wonder how good Mironov and my old buddy Abell will be?”
    “Mironov is very good. An excellent pilot. He could land on our roof, if he wanted to.”
    Connors laughed, light and easy. “Now that would cause a helluva problem, wouldn’t it?”
    Vosnesensky made his lips curl upward, but it obviously took an effort.
    The scientists stored their contingency samples inside the airlock section of the L/AV. In an emergency, the airlock section and the cockpit atop it would lift off the ground. The lower half of the lander—the cargo bays and aerobrake—would remain on Mars. Even if one or more of